Lee Bowyer says he expects to be looking for a new club in the summer after claiming Birmingham City have told him he will not be offered a new contract. The 34-year-old midfielder, who was a key part of the Birmingham side that beat Arsenal in the Carling Cup final on Sunday, hopes to be given the opportunity to play for the club in Europe next season, although he admits the decision is out of his hands.

His contract expires in the summer and it is understood Birmingham have told Bowyer's representatives that they will not discuss his future until the end of the current campaign. "My deal is done in the summer here at Birmingham. I am 34 and can still do it, so we'll see what happens," Bowyer said. "I think at the moment the club have said, 'No, that is not going to happen,' so I will be looking elsewhere. But I have loved [winning at Wembley] and hopefully the fans appreciate the effort we have put out there because we definitely appreciate their support. They were unbelievable."

Bowyer believes he deserves the chance to prolong his career at St Andrew's, saying he is fit enough to continue to play in the Premier League and highlighting the crucial goals he has scored this season as evidence of his importance to the team. "I feel good," Bowyer said. "People, because of your age, question whether you can still get box to box – if you can still do what you used to. But I showed [against Arsenal] that I obviously can.

"I wanted to stay anyway," said Bowyer, when asked whether beating Arsenal had increased his desire to remain at Birmingham. "I have scored quite a few goals in Europe. They might want to keep me on, you never know. It is not up to me, it is up to the club. All I can do is try to put in performances. I have scored three important goals this season: Chelsea, Man United and West Ham in the [League] Cup, in the semi-finals. I have been doing that all my career. Nothing has changed because of my age. I have just got older and wiser and tried to calm down a bit."

Bowyer has made more than 550 appearances in an often controversial career that started at Charlton Athletic and has included spells with Leeds, Newcastle and West Ham before he joined Birmingham on a permanent basis in 2009. He reached the Uefa Cup and Champions League semi-finals with Leeds but that was the closest he had ever come to winning silverware before helping Birmingham to beat Arsenal courtesy of Obafemi Martins' late goal.

"In the past, when I was at Leeds, everyone put us down to win this, that and the other trophies and it never happened," Bowyer said. "I'm just thankful I've had a taste of it [now]. I remember David O'Leary [the Leeds manager at the time] saying to me: 'It is not how much money you earn, it is the medals you get and that is the most important thing.' I can go home and show my kids I've won a medal and not a lot of people can do that."